Kerry minor sensation David Clifford has been on the radar of AFL scouts since he was 16, Tomas O Sé has claimed.

In his Irish Independent column, O Sé fears Clifford - who scored 2-8 in the Kingdom's Munster MFC semi-final victory over Cork last week - is about to follow Mark O'Connor to the AFL.

"There's a rumour doing the rounds that Clifford will be heading Down Under for a trial in the next few weeks. I hope it's not true. Seamus Moynihan is in charge of the East Kerry minors and I'd say, right now, he's probably pulling his hair out (well, if he had any left to pull) at the thought of losing Clifford," he writes.

"My information is that first contact was made with Clifford when he was only 16. And so what's the GAA doing about this? Nothing?

"My information now is that over a dozen people based here in Ireland are effectively scouting the schools and colleges and minor championships for AFL clubs."

And O Sé is in no doubt that his former Kerry team-mate and current AFL International Talent Co-ordinator Tadhg Kennelly is behind moves to bring Clifford to Australia.

"If I met him tomorrow I'd say straight up: 'Tadhg, I've nothing against you personally. But I hate what you're doing'. A lot of Tadhg's former teammates are sick of this too, they just don't feel comfortable saying it. But I think Clifford leaving would be the straw that broke the camel's back," he adds.

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